Slip clutches, also termed safety clutches or torque limiters, allow for transmission of maximum allowable torques and also protect the drivetrain by slipping when excessively high torques are encountered. Under normal operation, a slip clutch mounted to a driving shaft can transfer torque between a motor and the equipment coupled to the drive shaft. When the equipment enters a mode of operation where excessive torque is experienced, for example when the equipment becomes jammed with a foreign objects or during intermittent torque overload conditions, the slip clutch decouples the movement of the motor from the drive shaft, and in the process protects the entire mechanism from transferring undesirably high torques and damaging the motor, drive shaft and other elements of the drive train. An example of such a slip clutch is the Baldor-DODGE TORQUE-TAMER™.
Heat is typically produced in the clutch during slippage. With increased heat, the clutch can break down faster. Further, the operation of such slip clutches depends on the coefficient of friction between components of the clutch that transfer motion. The coefficient of friction itself has temperature dependency, such that at higher temperatures, the clutch may slip at different torques than it would at lower temperatures. Heat dissipation is limited, in part, by lack of airflow through the clutch mechanism.